The incredible pumping SeaSoar!

Longitude: 178 09 W

1700 NZ time, January 8, 2002.

Hello. We’re still heading for the first experiment site, although right now we’re stopped for an equipment test station.  The ship is busy as all the instruments get their first deployment.  Lot’s of things to fix.  Shipping equipment by sea can be awfully hard on electronics. 

The weather, though, is cooperating beautifully with us.  Wind is 5 knots and seas are calm.  It’s hard to tell we’re at sea. 

We stopped at noon and Pete Strutton did a light cast, measuring the depth light of different wavelengths penetrates into the sea.  More phytoplankton and the light doesn’t reach as deep.  We then tested both water sampling rosettes.  The SIO rosette worked well except for a sticky trigger on several water sampling bottles.  The chief scientist (a chemist) says spray it with 3 in 1 oil.  The scientists, mostly biologists, say no way.  Boiling water was the compromise, it did the trick.  We then tested the iron sampling fish, a system we used on the MBARI Hawaii Expedition to collect seawater without contaminating it with iron.  Finally, the cable for the Large Volume Pumping System was paid out, one sample collected and then spooled back on board.  We’ll test the pumping SeaSoar tomorrow.  The SeaSoar is towed behind the ship.  It has wings that allow it to fly down to 200 m depth and then back up again as we travel at 6 knots.  It has a pump and a tube in the tow cable that send water back up to the ship where the water is analyzed for chemical and biological properties.

We’re continuing southeast now.  Water temperatures are still quite warm - 14°C, which is warmer than Monterey Bay at 36°N.  Oh well, we’ll see ice soon enough.

Bye for now